A surprise development that many fans had been calling for is finally happening: the hit shows Abbott Elementary and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia will feature a crossover episode on Abbott Elementary Season 4, premiering in October.
Fans have gone wild over the potential collaboration since Abbott Elementary creator Quinta Brunson teased a "game-changing" crossover at Comic-Con in July.
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Official confirmation came October 3, 2024, when It's Always Sunny star Rob McElhenney posted a picture of himself and Charlie Day alongside Brunson, all together on the Warner Bros. lot, hinting at what's yet to come.
These two iconic shows, set in Philadelphia and part of the Disney family have been on everyone's radar for a possible link-up. Now that the crossover has become a reality, the question remains: what can we expect when Abbott's teachers meet Philly's most dysfunctional pub owners?
What we know about Abbott Elementary's newest collaboration so far
The crossover episode will feature the main characters from both shows. These include Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day of It's Always Sunny appearing with Quinta Brunson and her co-stars from Abbott Elementary. As expected, Rob in an Instagram post captioned it cryptically: "Oh. Hello."
Brunson ran with the hype by posting the following on her account:
"Season 4 of Abbott Elementary gets real Sunny".
In a now-expired Instagram story, McElhenney dropped another photo introducing Danny DeVito, Tyler James Williams, and William Stanford Davis to the mix, which escalated the possibilities of what could make for a messy, comedic mix of characters.
Since fans of Abbott and Sunny know that each show thrives at satire-spurred offenses - such as an education system or life at a dive bar - now the question is: how will these worlds collide?
The Sunny gang is up to its morally dubious antics, while the Abbott staff tries to cope with the trials and tribulations of working in an American public school system. Cue television magic!
Executive producers Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker have hinted about the challenge of marrying these two shows.
According to an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Halpern confessed that:
“I was really excited about it, but I was like, ‘I do not know how this is going to work.’”
Schumacker added that both creative teams worked very closely and spent ample time together in the writer's room to do justice to both shows' styles.
How the upcoming Abbott Elementary x It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia crossover came to be
A crossover has been rumored since early 2024. McElhenney first teased it when he reposted pictures of a viral immersive experience in February, suggesting it was more of an It's Always Sunny–Abbott Elementary crossover episode.
Things only got more exciting when Brunson teased an unnamed crossover during the Abbott Comic-Con panel in July, declaring that it would "change television as we know it." Both shows are deeply rooted in Philadelphia, and their humor-plus-heart tendencies make them a natural crossover fit.
Abbott Elementary has remained a winner, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is considered TV's longest-running live-action sitcom. With McElhenney, Day, and DeVito on board, besides the cast of Abbott, this crossover promises to be one to remember.
The crossover episode will be on ABC this winter and stream on Hulu the next day.
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